Recording-speedometer.



G. & P. KNOPF.

RECORDING SPEBDOMETER.

APPLICATION FILED 1330.26, 1912 Patented May 19, 1914.

PAUL Kirorr, citizens of the United States, residing in theboroughof Manhattan of .UNITED STATES PATENT o FIoE.

(mm. mm m) PAUL xuorr, or NEW YORK; n. Y., assreuoas r KNOPF BROTHERS mauureo'runms COMPANY, or NEW Xenia-1v. Y... A coarona'rrou or NEW YORK.

' RECORDING-SPEEDOMETER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 19, 1914.

Application filed December 26, 1912. Serial No. 738,537.

To all cvhom it may concern Be it known that we, CARL Know and the city of New York, in the county of New .York, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Recording-Speedometers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

which form a part'hereof.

This invent-ion relates to that type of recording instruments which operate on the principle of the ordinary speedometer and which include a stylus oscillated by the revolutions of a wheel of the vehicle across the face of a continuously moving tape, dial or 7 f traveled, from which the speed at any given together with the means for moving the hicle.

. thelike, graduated in convenient units, to record thereon the time at which the vehicle 'was used and the distance through which it period may be computed.- The tape or dial,

same continuously and the stylus are usuallymounted on the dash or other portion of the vehicle near t-he drivers seat while the actuating mechanism for the stylus has hitherto been impelled-through a flexible shaft or its mechanical equivalent operatively connected with one of the wheels of the ve- Such a flexible connection has not roved to be entirely satisfactory since it is constantly rendered inoperative by the ravages of the elements and the deposit of foreign particles therein, such. as dust, etc. Then too, it involves the employment of a number of moving. parts suchjas gears, hours ings, shafting, etc. which are'likewise exposed to injury. This exposed mechanism may be deranged or tampered with by the o rator of the vehicle when, as is so often th case, it is to his interest to destroy all evidence of the use of the car or the nature parts of the instrument in a single casing,

I may be'shipped readily andattached to or,

of such use, such as the speed, distance and duration thereof. 1

It is an object of this invention to render unnecessary the use of such a flexible conn'ection or its mechanical: equivalent and to mount the recording mechanism in juxtaposition to the actuating means therefor.

.Another object is to inclose all of the thus forming a compact structure -which detached from the wheel of the vehicle with out the assistance of a skilled mechanic.

A further object is to 'make this casing dust-proof and substantially air-tight so that the parts of the instrument are not liable to deterioration by causes other than natural.

. Another object is to render more simple than hitherto the actuating mechanism for the stylus by reducing the number of moving parts thereof and to provide-for the in-\ variable operation of thesame. In accordancewith this object the casing inclosing all of theparts of the instrument is mounted on a wheel of the vehicle so as to rotate bodily therewith and gravity means operable by the movement of the casing are disposed within said casing and connected to the stylus.

Further improvements in the general construction of the type of instrument herein illustrated will appear as this description proceeds. I

Reference is .now to be had tothe accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a view in elevation of the casing, the front being broken away to show 'the improved mechanlsm, one manner of mounting the casing on a wheel being indi cated. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same'showing more particularly. the conned tions between the'stylus and the gravity operated actuating mechanism therefor. Fig. 3 is' a fragmentary" view of a portion of a dial indicating clearly a record thereon of the use of a vehicle In the embodiment herein illustrated the casing a is of substantially cylindrical shape being provided, however in its Walls wlth a recess a in which the two approximate converging spokes Z) of the vehicle wheel are adapted to fit snugly. The casing, preferably in the interests of rigidity, 1s mounted between the spokes at a point very near the hub Z) of the wheel so-that, by reason of the angularity of the spokes, two corresponding clamps a each in engagement wlth a spoke, will be sufficient .to hold the casing in fixed position against the centrifugal force tending to dislodgethe same. The casing 1n the embodiment illustrated, is' preferably of a width less thanfthefwidth of the ,hub or the rim so that-it is less,i liable;togbe struck by miscellaneouskobjects byitIV-miglht be damaged; It; should be emphasized here that this invention is not limited to the specific means for mounting the recording mechanism on a wheel. nor to the exact loca tion of such recording mechanism thereon. For instance, it may be desirable to mount the recordingdevice on the hub of the wheel, which is an entirely feasible scheme, as will appear when the actuating mocha? uism for the recording chart is described. In some instances it may be desirable to mount the entire mechanism near the periphery of the wheel. All such changes of location and modifications in the mounting men s are to be deemed within the purview of this invention. 7

A suitable cover a may be provided for the casing and owing to the conditions of use of the instrument it has been found desirable to have the cover in tight frictional engagement with the casing so as to prevent the entrance of dust or'the like. Obviously, however, other-means may be employedto effect a suitable union'of the two. The interior of the casing is divided by a removable transverse partition a into two com partments a and a In the compartment a is suspended on a shaft cl preferably axially of the casing, a weighty segment at, having its center-of gravity as far removed from its aXis as is consistent with compactness, for a purpose which will later appear.

In the compartment a may be mounted a suitable clock mechanism 6 having a main shaft 6 on which may be secured removably, a metallic or inflexible disk f by means of any convenient fastener 6 On one face of the metallic disk f may be secured a second disk 9 of card-board or the like, which is suitably graduated into convenient units of time as will be more fully hereinafter pointed out. The purpose of the first named disk is merely toform a support for the card disk 9 when the stylus is recording thereon, as will be understood from the following descriptione Operatively disposed with respect to the card disk 9 is a stylus or marker h of any approved form. This stylus has its shank disposed in a slot 71 formed in an oscillating arm 6 'pivotally mounted on a shaft 2' secured in the casing a. The stylus it also rests in a slot 7' formed in a bracket j secured to the wall of the casing a and projecting toward the centerof thecasing along aradial line thereof. The slot i in the arm 5 is disposed substantially at rightangles to the slot 7' in the bracket 7'7 so that While the I oscillations of the arm a" cause a corresponding movement of the stylus 72. such movement.

is necessarily truly radial with respect to the casing a and the card disk 9.

In operative engagement with the arm 2" is a cam k of any approved form whereby to impart an oscillatory movement to said arm, mounted on a shaftik', disposed in suit able bearings is and Z0 secured within the casing. In the present embbdiment the k is pear-shaped, the arm 5 being held in engagement with the face thereof by a suit able spring m. YVhen desirable, however, a grooved cam having a positive engagement; with the aunt may be substituted. The shaft 7; of the cam is is operatively. eonnected to the shaft d of the suspended weighty segment (Z through suitable gearing Z and shafting Z. The shaft d of the segment a? is provided with a worm (Z in engagement with one of the spiral gears Z so that rota tion of the shaft of the segment imparts a rotating movement to the cam 7c. The purpose of the interposed gearing and shafting Z and Z between the cam and the shaft d of the cam (Z, is to reduce the speed at which the cam is is rotated, to any desired extent. In this way a single oscillation of the stylus h with respect to a given linear distance through which the vehicle travels, may be insured. v

In operation, a suitable disk of card-board or the like is placed in engagement with the metallic supporting disk f and the two are secured to the shafte of the clock works by means of the cap a This card g has a marginal portion thereof graduated in ltours and minutes as indicated in Figrfieds- The stylus 0r marker h is in engagement with this graduated nlarginali portion and the length of its oscillations; are fixed so as never to leave the graduated portion. When the vehicle is at rest it will be understood that the disk 9 is moved by the clock work with respect to the stylus h, which at this time remains stationary. The mark then traced on the face of the disk will. be sub stantially concentric with the axis thereof. When the vehicle is started, the entire casing a will be moved bodily so that the suspended segment 03, by reason of its weight, willreceive a combined motion of rotation-about its own shaft cl and of pure translation. about the axle of the vehicle. The segment will always tend to have its center of gravity at the lowest point possible, which will, of course, be below the shaft thereof and in orderto K'EtttllletlllS lowermost position, the shaft of the segment at will, during one 'revolution of the vehicle wheel make one complete revolution with respect to the easing. This rotatingamovement will be imparted to the cam is in the manner hereinnearlytangential-to the radii-of the disk 9.

obtained from the chart.

Reference to Fig.3 shows that the vehicle on which the disk was used remamed stationary from two o'clock until substantially eight minutes '1 ast two when it moved at a relatively high speed until fifteen minutes past two, when it remained stationary for fifteen minutes, after which it moved at'a slcw speed until about fifteen minutes before three o eloclt when it was stopped for a time, and etc. 'As it is known that the stylus moves a certain distance for a given travel, of the vehicle, the speed for any period of use may be computed readily'from the data It will be understood that the dial g may he removed as oftenas isnecessary and a new dial placed in position. It will also be evident, that any suitable locking arrangement may be employed to secure positively the cover 0, to the hody of the casing a so as to prevent the insertion of a new card or the alteration-of theone in operative position, thus afiording'acert-aincheck on the travel of the vehicle, v

Modifications of the structure herein de? scribed will suggest themselves to .-those skilled in-the art, but it is to be understood that any embodiment of suclr-a recording device as is herein shown, in which the-chart and marker are mounted on and operated by the-revolution of a wheel is to bedeemedwithin the spirit of this invention.

What we claim is: 1. A recording device lncludlng a movlng chart, a marker. mounted in operative.position with respect thereto, a cam in operative engagement with the marker to oscillate the same, means to rotate the cam including-a weight pivotally' suspended in stable" equilibrium, a. case in which all of-saldpa-rts are disposed, and means to mount the'case on a wheel of the vehicle whereby bodily movement of the case and rotation Oftlie-Weight causing rotation of the segment with with respect thereto is caused by the revoluation of the wheel. a

A recording device including a case.

mounted on the wheel ofa vehicle, a clock mechanism mounted inithe case, a g'aduat'ed disk. adapted to be rotated continu ously by said cloclemeehanism, astylus in engagement with the face of the graduated disk, an. oscillating arm on whichthe stylus case to oscillate said arm, and a1\veiglit seg- 1 ment suspended prvo'tally in said case and .in Y

operative connection with the/cam, rotation ofthe wheel on which said case is mounted respect to the. case.

3. A recording .device -including a ease mounted on the wheel of a vehicle, a clock mechanism "mounted -in'the ca se, a graduated This specification signed and witneSed of thes this 24th day of December A. D. 19

CARLYKNOPF. PAULKNOPF.

which said chart adapted to bemovedcontinuously by i ,said clock mechanism, a stylus 1n engageor is 

